TSW: Big Apple Bustle!

Amtrak intercity passenger and CSX freight operations around the bustling New York City metropolitan region are coming soon to Train Sim World – with the “Northeast Corridor” New York route.”

This new Train Sim World route will re-create some of the busiest trackage on Amtrak’s famed Boston – New York – Washington, D.C., Northeast Corridor, with the route’s featured portion of the “NEC” extending from near Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey to the Amtrak/Metro-North station at New Rochelle, New York. And in between these end points awaits Amtrak’s busiest and most famous rail station – New York Penn which hosts more than 10 million Amtrak passengers annually – as well as classic Newark Penn Station and the Secaucus station (served by NJ Transit).

In addition to busy New York Penn Station, the “Big Apple” is home to Amtrak’s sprawling Sunnyside Yard complex in the borough of Queens, and famed Hell Gate Bridge, which stands 135 above the East River and (with approaches) measures more than 17,000-feet long in taking Amtrak’s Hell Gate Line from Queens to the Bronx.

As an engineer on the Train Sim World Northeast Corridor New York route, you’ll be climbing aboard a detailed and authentic Amtrak ACS-64 “Amtrak City Sprinter” electric. As constructed by Siemens Mobility between 2013 and 2016, the ACS-64 is both sleek and powerful. Riding on a four-axle (B-B) wheel arrangement, the Amtrak City Sprinter measures 66-feet long, weighs 215,537 pounds, and features a monocoque body and double-cab design. The ACS-64 produces 8,600 horsepower (6,400 kW) in maximum output, has a continuous rating of 5,000 kW (approximately 6,700 horsepower), and is permitted to operate at speeds up to 125-mph on the Amtrak Northeast Corridor. Accompanying the flashy ACS-64 on the Northeast Corridor New York route will be Amtrak’s workhorse Amfleet I passenger equipment, including standard coach, business class, and café car versions as are the standard equipment on Amtrak’s Northeast Regional trains.

Taking the controls of Amtrak’s ACS-64 in a variety of scenarios (including an ACS-64 tutorial and three full-length scenarios) along with a wealth of “service mode” schedules will provide a variety of passenger-service operating challenges – and Northeast Corridor New York will also put you to work handling CSX freight duties.

As earlier detailed in the article “Big Apple Tonnage”, the Train Sim World Northeast Corridor New York route will feature a diversity of notable freight locations and operations, including three major yards (Oak Point and Harlem River in the Bronx and Fresh Pond in Queens), multiple lineside shippers including the Waste Management Harlem River Transfer Station and massive Hunts Point Produce Terminal in the Bronx, and the freight-only line over Hell Gate connecting with the CSX’s Fremont Secondary to Fresh Pond in Queens.

Providing the power to move tonnage over the Northeast Corridor New York route will be the versatile CSX Electro-Motive GP38-2 road-switcher, which will be dressed in CSX’s “YN3” livery. And joining the CSX GP38-2 will be a selection of freight rolling stock, including an 85-foot trash-carrying flat/container car, CSX 50-foot Plate C boxcar, 5201-cubic-foot covered hopper, 30,500-gallon tank car, and 73-foot centerbeam flatcar.

The bustling railroading action of the Big Apple – including captivating and challenging passenger and freight action - is on the way to Train Sim World in the upcoming Northeast Corridor New York route! – Gary Dolzall ■